10:00
"I remember when this little night-club was nothing more than a drawing on a dirty, pizza-napkin" He placed his hat and coat on the back of the chair; and gently continued
"Do you remember what you told me, to get me to give you this land?"
I shook my head
"Let me refresh your memory. You told me that you would be in debt to me; and I am here to collect. "
"Walter you have to understand that I am out"
He pointed to the fridge; and coldly asked
"Can I grab a beer?"
"Of course."
He took a sip of the beer and leaned in close to me and whispered
"How many people do you think will question your death? They will probably rule it a suicide; they will say the down-turn and the pressure of running a business finally caught up with you and no-one would be the wiser."
I felt the cold metal press against the side of my temple. I heard the gun-clip as he pressed the trigger
"What would killing you achieve?"
He picked up his hat and coat, and walked to the door.
4The Bank
A man sat behind a glass wall; a box of Trojan condoms loosely placed in a container in front of him. I placed my manicured hand in my pocket, and pulled out a tatted twenty dollar bill.
The young teller smiled and slid a condom from under the glass along with a key. As I walked down the narrow corridors I saw the smoke from the sauna's billow beneath the high-set doors. As I got closer, I saw an eye from a peep-hole check me up and down before opening the door.
The man's gut hung over his loose-fitting swimming trunks. On the top shelf of the "Bath House" I saw a box of Cuban cigars. His fat fingers delicately opened the box, and lit it up. He smiled and asked
"Do you want one?"
I shook my head
His cold fingers dragged down my blouse to my jeans. I brushed his hand away. He laughed, and softly asked
"Do you know why they call this place "The Bank"
I shook my head
"Back in the 1970's LA had hundreds of "Bath Houses". They were used by Gays and Lesbians as a discreet place to hook-up. They were safe; you got a condom at the door, you had sex and left, with no questions being raised.
But at their height in the late 1980's, they had a problem. The demand was too high and they didn't have enough supply. So they transformed already established buildings. Hence the name"
I softly asked
"Is that why you brought me here; for a history lesson"
His booming laugh echoed in the room again
"You see that mark on your neck. That means that I can do whatever I want with you. I own you"
"Of course sir"
He pointed to one of his assistants, who handed him his walker
"Terrible affliction being the weight I am; it means relying on this walker to get around"
He leaned in close and whipped the beads of sweat from my face
"You must be hot in that large blouse"
I placed the blouse into a plastic bag. He ushered me to sit beside him. He placed his hands on my breasts and softly asked
"Are those real?"
"You know Walter asked the same question when he hired me..."
I coyly continued
"Why don't you guess?"
"Why don't you get rid of that bra? It is hard to tell with all of the padding"
I unclasped my sports-bra and placed it into a plastic bag. I felt his arm around my back as he ushered me to the marble bench in the corner of the room. He touched my areola; before making his way to the top of my breast. He confidently said
"Those are God given"
He grabbed a pair of hand-cuffs from his walker; and placed them on me. He pointed to the condoms, and gently said
"Can you give them to the body-guard?"
A balding man in his mid twenties smiled sickeningly. He tenderly wrapped his hand around my waist and un-did my jeans. He handed them to the stranger who placed them in the plastic bag.
Some kind of wonderful by Grand Funk Railway echoed over the airways.
The Farm
"Have you dealt with our killer friend?"
"I showed him that crossing me wouldn't be a smart move"
Night-club
Aside
Dream a little dream of me Ella Fitzgerald
The lights dimmed. Ramona sat at the booth. I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and slid next to her. I wrapped my hand around her, and dragged her close, before kissing her.
"What if Walter sees's us"
He gently placed his hand on my lips and stated
"Mr Walter Whitman is a man; and as a man he cannot control how I feel"
The Girl from Ipanema Frank Sinatra
The wedding band twirled on the bar. I pointed to the bar-tender and whispered
"Another one please"
"You know the rules about me over-serving. Sadly sir I have to cut you off."
She caught my eye. That was the moment I had to have her.
Present day
I'll be seeing you; Billie Holiday
"It doesn't seem real; this feels like a dream, and when I wake up, she will be sitting in that booth two with me."
Walter wrapped his arm around me and replied
"I know; her death has been on everyone's mind"
"Can I offer you a drink? You know in another life I was a bar-tender"
"Just a double jacks with ice"
"I didn't know that you two were that close"
I took a sip
"We were once. But about a month before her death we had a falling out"
Night club
Aside
The young man grabbed a camel cigarette from his breast pocket and gently asked
"Do you have a lighter?"
"For an old friend like you; you can have my special lighter"
He placed the butt of the cigarette in the ash-tray and continued
"I have been looking at the books for the last financial year, and we have a problem"
I leaned in close
"What is the damage?"
"Twenty thousand dollars"
"Send the girls in"
I grabbed the gun from under the table; and loaded the chamber
"What are you going to do?"
I laughed
"Rule 1 of business; never ask questions you don't want to know the answer to"
The bank party
"To the company; may we have another year of profit."
I wheeled in a large chocolate cake.
"Further-more our God! Walter Whitman also sent an additional surprise"
Of out the cake emerged a 6 foot 11 inch brunette wearing long, fish-net stockings and a figuring hugging lingerie set. I offered her a hand and ushered her down to the "Floor Room" where an office chair had been set up.
I grabbed the mic from the stand and calmly continued
"This is Ramona; she is from the agency, please make her feel welcome"
FBI building
"Where did he find a girl like her?"
I passed him a cigarette and calmly said
"She was one of mine."
Bar – 12:00am
"When I found her, she was a God-sent but she had to pass The Bank Test"
I grabbed another beer and asked
"What is The Bank Test?"
He took a sip and continued
"Every year at Christmas I like to give the guys a gift from me. And typically it is one of the new girls at my club"
"Why"
He put his drink down and leaned in close
"Because they are the roughest people I know. If they can handle them then they can handle the common Folk that enjoy my bar. "
He pointed to the bar-tender, and gently asked
"We seem to be out of beers, can you grab two from the back"
"So did she pass?"
He put down his drink and stated
"She hooked up with the managing director; some nobody called Charlie"
"Is that a problem?"
"Frankie can we have some burgers from the kitchen?"
I felt the heft of the plate as Frank placed two large burgers and fries on the table
"This place has rules. It has a way that it is run to optimise efficiency. The clients expect it and I expect it.
Romana dating Charlie changed that balance. Ramona was one of the best; she had been for a while and she had adoring clients. Her being away kept them away. "
He dipped his fries in the ranch-sauce and continued
"As much as the rules matter; money is still the man who keeps the lights on and pays the staff wages."
"Is that why you fell out?"
"Charlie and Ramona didn't like the deal she was on. She thought she could make more money somewhere else. "
"And you let her go..."
"I had seen her work; I knew what her signature on a new contract was worth, so I tried to get her to reconsider. You might even say I lowered myself to begging her to stay. But in the end her mind was already made up. She turned me down, and I made the heart-breaking decision to bench-her."
"Bench her?"
"She was only called "By Request" she never danced on nights her clients weren't in."
"What happened to Charlie and Ramona?"
"The same thing that happens to all young lovers; she got too old, too fat and ultimately had no value anymore. He decided to cut her, and find someone else. Last I knew he had an Adult Entertainment Media Empire in California and a whole string of young attractive models and porn veterans on the payroll"
He took a sip of beer and coldly continued
"It almost doesn't seem fair; two young lovers wanting to conquer the world, and getting cut down before they could reach the peak.
"Anyway I found her again. She was on Porn-Hub getting her ass pounded by some up and coming no-one in his studio loft apartment. "
He laughed
"Honestly it made me think how far she had really fallen. She could have been driving around in the fancies cars in the most beautiful houses; yet here she was giving such a sacred gift away for millions of horny, pre-teens lying in their bedrooms."
"Didn't she have a child?"
"I found out that Charlie and she had gotten pregnant about 4 years ago. When they broke-up, she took the child and left him the empire. "
I remember back in the day; to get off you grabbed a collection of your fathers Play-Boy magazines and you stared longingly at the centre-fold. Your eyes darted up her long, lean muscular body as your hand rhymically strokes your still developing genitals.
But since the invention of the internet; the game has changed
You no longer have to un-furl crinkled pages to enjoy your favourite models, you type her name into Porn-Hub and she appears. A nieve twenty-something college girl, her breasts barely developed, spread-eagle on a 1970's bright green couch.
The camera draws closer
Beads of sweat run down her brow to the top of her favourite white tank-top, that her boyfriend brought because he said it brought out her eyes. And you watch. You watch as she sells her soul for fame; you watch, your eyes transfixed on her breasts, as they bounce. But the relationship you have formed with her is transactional; she gives you what you desire and in return you give her what she desires. But as your fantasies grows so does she; a college girl turns into a women and her boyfriend turns into her husband and business manager. And you are left out in the cold.
And that is how it starts.
Initially you watch her videos; but you squirrel away enough to buy her Only Fans, and you spend the night watching and messaging, her hoping you become her next conquest. But it never happens.
"That is why I don't like people like Ramona. They earned their fame by selling the most sacred gift one human can bestow to another; and they sold it for views and fame. To them it is meaningless
There is no true connection. Once the twelve minute scene ends they lie next to their partner and pretend like nothing happened.
FBI building
1:30
"Ramona is not her real name; her real name is Lacy Roads. She was a smart and talented young girl until she met Dustin Fields"
"Wasn't he some up and coming Podcaster?"
"Correct. Dustin was a Podcaster; but his ex-girlfriend Lana gave him a couple of contacts in the industry"
"So what he gave up his podcast; to sell his soul?"
"Coffee two sugars black"
"Dustin always had one foot in the door; the only difference now was he had the confidence to go all of the way in"
"So where did Dustin meet Lacy?"
"At the AVN awards. Lacy was nominated for best new talent and Dustin was networking with his ex-girlfriend in an attempt to relaunch his podcast"
"I am guessing she won?"
I sipped my coffee and continued
"How do you fit into all of this?"
"Lacy and Dustin started dating in July about a month after the awards show; and she was his first guest on the podcast.
The concept was they would invite an up and coming start to the show; and they would both give the new actor/actress the best fun you could have without leaving the ground.
The problem was that they were both broke. They needed cash-flow; that was my job. My show "Off Topic" was a mild hit at work; so we decided to shoot a pilot episode. Within a month we were ranked number seventy five on the top two hundred new podcasts.
That is when Dustin first reached out to me"
"I said i would do it; but only if I got to have Lacy on the Podcast. He agreed and that is how I met Lacy Roads."
"Didn't Dustin Marry Lacy?"
I mean it was all for show. They filmed their honey-moon and sent it to Porn-hub. Within a few months it had racked up two hundred and ten thousand views. They were celebrities."
"What happened to Dustin?"
I put down the cup and softly said
"Lacy and Dustin Divorced in the spring; he started dating Lana in the summer of that year and together they Launched "Nothing But Next"
"I think I read about that. I think they lasted four years before Dustin cheated on Lana with one of his co-stars in one of his Porn films. But she also started dating Justin Long-nose, who she had a baby boy with"
"But I got the best deal of all; I got Lacy Roads, and she is amazing"